What Causes Premature Aging?

Premature aging isn’t just about looking older—it’s a sign that your skin’s natural balance has been disrupted. Factors like dehydration, collagen loss, and buildup of subsurface blockages can accelerate visible signs of aging, sometimes starting as early as your twenties. Many conventional skin care practices, from harsh acne treatments to excessive exfoliation, unknowingly contribute to this process. But the good news is that with the right approach—focusing on hydration, deep dermal nourishment, and skin-supportive treatments—you can slow, and even partially reverse, premature aging. Understanding what truly supports your skin’s longevity is the first step to maintaining a healthy, vibrant complexion for years to come.

What Is Premature Aging?

Premature aging occurs when the skin experiences a decline in hydration, leading to a series of structural and visual changes. In addition the loss of dermal thickness and collagen results in reduced volume, making fine lines and wrinkles more apparent. 

More signs of premature aging like  sunspots become more pronounced, sebaceous filaments appear in excess, and subsurface microcluster blockages—such as milia, milia clusters, and blackheads—begin to accumulate. Over time, these factors can contribute to the formation of precursor lesions, which disturb the skin’s naturally smooth skin texture.

When Does Premature Aging Start?

Surprisingly, the underlying causes of premature aging can take hold as early as in late teens and early twenties, only finally becoming noticeable by late twenties. 

What Causes Premature Aging?

Topical Dehydration

Over-cleansing, over-exfoliation, the use of acne stringents, inflammation from microneedling, irritation from essential oils, and the use of an oil-free moisturizer all cause topical dehydration in your skin.

Subsurface Micro-Blockage Build Up

The build up of subsurface micro-blockages are a direct result from the above practices as our skin’s natural oil is not swiftly routed to the surface to prevent these blockages and to deliver itself as a built in moisturizer.

UV Exposure

Excessive sun radiation will break down our collagen reserves. Collagen can be synthesized during a short window in our twenties but never at a rate that would counteract loss accrued by exposing it regularly for extended periods. Preservation is critical as collagen replenishments are not realistic, no matter what skin advertisements claim.

Conventional Acne & Anti-Aging Protocols

Anything that dries you out to achieve “clear” skin is short sighted and will sabotage your skin’s natural ability to become self-purifying. Anything that is using exfoliants or trauma to “renew” your skin will thin your dermal layer faster and diminish collagen over time. Our skin is not a muscle and does not experience beneficial stress the way muscles do. Our deeper skin is a mattress of capillaries and must be nourished and protected for longevity.

Botox & Volume Injections

These only superficially make the skin appear more youthful from a distance but they are a drain on your skin’s vitality by adding unnecessary inflammation, trauma fluid, stress, and sabotaging your skin’s native self-purifying functions so that subsurface blockages occur. 

How To Avoid Premature Aging

Increase Topical Hydration

Opt for minimal and warm water cleansing instead of unnecessary cleansers. Layer a true hydrating mist, and hydrating hydrophilic serum, and strategically apply a dense lipid on top before they evaporate.

Learn how to feed your dermal layer to sustain dermal thickness and incur angiogenesis. 

Get Annual  Deep Pore Cleansing Facials

My signature Deep pore cleansing facials help to activate & maintain self-purifying and self-renewing skin. These sessions remove a lifetime of subsurface microblockages and prevent more from forming.

Use a Clean SPF 

Use sunscreen daily and reapply every 2-3 hours. Consistently protect yourself on your face and high-exposure areas such as your neck, chest, hands, and wrists.

Avoid Inflammatory Procedures, Conventional Acne Protocols & Ingredients

Toss those pore-minimizing products, essential oils, scrubs,  and exfoliants out the door. 

Start Face Yoga & Microcurrent

This helps to tone and lift facial muscles. 

Discover Regenerative Skin Practices

Practices such as face sculpting, acupuncture, cupping, and gua sha are great to start with.

Can You Reverse Premature Aging?

Yes—to a degree. Right intervention can take 5-10 years away when the skin has been neglected altogether.  Over-procedured skin requires a permanent vacation from procedures accompanied by consistent deep dermal nourishment, and Deep Pore Cleansing Facials to bring the bright happy glow back and improve texture.

While reversing premature aging entirely may not be possible, slowing its progression is always worthwhile. The first step is to unlearn outdated skin care concepts that may be sabotaging your skin’s longevity and instead embrace regenerative skin practices. There’s no need to dwell on past mistakes—many inflammatory skin care methods date back to the 1900s, and conventional acne protocols from the 1970s have remained largely unchanged for mainstream consumers.

Sebaceous glands were once thought of being ‘living fossils” in the 1970’s but in 2007 scientists have changed their tune..calling it “the brain of our skin.” It turns out our sebaceous glands have EVERYTHING to do with skin health and how well (or not) our skin ages.

Educate yourself by listening to Relearning Skincare and understanding the misplaced hermetic effect—while beneficial stress can strengthen muscles, it does not have the same positive impact on our skin. 

Achieving healthy blood flow requires far less force than laser companies or the conventional skin care industry once believed. In fact, as research evolves, skin care methods are becoming increasingly gentle in response to the growing awareness of their obvious harm. Finding your skin’s sweet spot for beneficial harm can be complex, as genetics and past procedures play a significant role. Supplying your skin with ample Dermal Nourishment as the core of your skin routine is critical to longevity.  To navigate this, seek out a corneotherapist who specializes in skin barrier health and personalized care.

Take Control of Premature Aging

Many causes of premature aging are entirely within your control. If signs of premature aging have already set in, reach out to us to explore our programs & products that can support your skin.